This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

The obstacle is the path.

The path of practice moves from faith through understanding to direct realization.

Many people think excitement is happiness... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

The grass is greener where you water it.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

Meditation in the midst of activity is a thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.

The menu is not the meal.

When you recognize that pain and suffering are impermanent, you become free.

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence.

Those who grasp at things as truly existent are like someone trying to catch the reflection of the moon in water.

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

The mind is like a wild monkey, jumping here and there. But through meditation, we learn to see whatever arises in our mind with more spaciousness and clarity.

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.

The greatest obstacle to meditation is our expectation about what it should be.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.

True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to bring everything onto the path. Every experience becomes an opportunity for awakening.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

In a mind clear as still water, even the waves, breaking, are reflecting its light.

The Buddha taught that wealth does not bring happiness and security. The pursuit of wealth is a matter of living in balance.

When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.